Star Wars (soundtrack)

Star Wars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 1977 film Star Wars, composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Williams' score for Star Wars was recorded over eight sessions at Anvil Studios in Denham, England on March 5, 8–12, 15 and 16, 1977. The score was orchestrated by Williams, Herbert W. Spencer, Alexander Courage, Angela Morley, Arthur Morton and Albert Woodbury. Spencer orchestrated the scores for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The score was recorded by engineer Eric Tomlinson and edited by Kenneth Wannberg, and the scoring sessions were produced by Star Wars director George Lucas and supervised by Lionel Newman, head of 20th Century Fox's music department.

This article is about the score for the 1977 film. For the Wilco album, see Star Wars (Wilco album).

Star Wars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Cover of the original 1977 release
Soundtrack album by
John Williams
ReleasedJune 1977
RecordedMarch 5–16, 1977
StudioAnvil Studios, Denham
GenreClassical
Length74:58
Label20th Century
Producer
John Williams chronology
Black Sunday
(1977)		 Star Wars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(1977)		 Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1977)
Star Wars soundtrack chronology
Star Wars
(1977)		 The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Filmtracks
Movie Wave
SoundtrackNet

The soundtrack album was released by 20th Century Records as a double-LP record in the United States in June 1977. The album's main title peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, with a disco version of the film's theme by Meco becoming a number one single hit in the United States in October 1977. The soundtrack album itself became the best-selling symphonic album of all time;[1] it was certified Gold and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and won numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special and Best Instrumental Composition (for the "Main Title"). It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 2004, it was preserved by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry, calling it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2005, the American Film Institute named the original Star Wars soundtrack as the most memorable score of all time for an American film.[2]

The Star Wars soundtrack saw subsequent reissues since its initial release. In 2016, the album was re-released by Sony Classical Records on vinyl, CD, and digital formats alongside Williams' other Star Wars soundtracks. The vinyl release is pressed on 180g vinyl, and features the original 20th Century Records logo. Unlike all of Sony Classical's previous releases, however, the vinyl version is a remastered version of the original 1977 release, not the Special Edition. Walt Disney Records remastered and reissued the soundtrack on vinyl LP on December 1, 2017, and on CD and digital formats on May 4, 2018.[3][4]

Original 1977 release

The original 1977 release of the soundtrack, entitled Star Wars - Original Soundtrack, included a poster of a painting by science fiction artist John Berkey, depicting the final battle over the Death Star from the film's end.[5] The album was released as a double LP which was formatted for an autochanger record player; one disc had sides one and four with the other having sides two and three. This allowed a person to stack sides one and two on the player, then flip the stack over for sides three and four, allowing the listener to have over half an hour of uninterrupted music before they needed to flip the discs over.[6]

Track listing

First release on LP by 20th Century Records. For the original soundtrack, Williams selected 75 minutes of music out of the 88 minute score. To provide musical variety, it did not follow the film's chronological order.

This track listing is also shared by Sony Classical's LP release in 2016, and Walt Disney Records' LP and CD releases in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Main Title"5:20
2."Imperial Attack"6:10
3."Princess Leia's Theme"4:18
4."The Desert and the Robot Auction"2:51
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Ben's Death and TIE Fighter Attack"3:46
6."The Little People Work"4:02
7."Rescue of the Princess"4:46
8."Inner City"4:12
9."Cantina Band"2:44
Side three
No.TitleLength
10."The Land of the Sandpeople"2:50
11."Mouse Robot and Blasting Off"4:01
12."The Return Home"2:46
13."The Walls Converge"4:31
14."The Princess Appears"4:04
Side four
No.TitleLength
15."The Last Battle"12:05
16."The Throne Room and End Title"5:28
Total length:74:58

Personnel
  • 1st Violins: Neville Taweel (Leader), Richard Studt (Principal), Irvine Arditti (Principal), Brian Thomas (Sub-Principal), Stanley Castle, Sydney Colter, Dennis Gaines, Charles Beldom, Robert Retallick, C. Reuben, Norman Freeman, Max Weber, Robin Brightman, Brian Gaulton
  • 2nd Violins: Warwick Hill (Principal), Neil Watson (Co-Principal), Samuel Artis, William Brown, Thomas Cook, Terry Morton, Jack Steadman, Donald Stewart, Thomas Swift, David Williams, R. Clark, Geoffrey Creese, D. Llewellyn, Harry Nathan
  • Violas: Alexander Taylor (Principal), Brian Clarke (Co-Principal), Peter Norriss (Sub-Principal), Patrick Hooley, Michael Mitchell, David Hume, William Sumpton, Patrick Vermont, William Krasnik, Eric Cuthbertson
  • Cellos: Douglas Cummings (Principal), Maurice Meulien (Co-Principal), Ray Adams (Sub-Principal), Jack Long, Ken Law, Douglas Powrie, Francis Saunders, Clive Gillinson, Tom Storer, K. Glossop
  • Double Basses: Bruce Mollinson (Principal), Arthur Griffiths (Sub-Principal), John Cooper, Gerald Newson, Pashanko Dimitroff, Goelson Neal
  • Flutes: Richard Taylor (Principal), Lowry Sanders, Francis Nolan
  • Oboes: Roger Lord (Principal), Anthony Camden (Principal)
  • Clarinets: Jack Brymer (Principal), Ronald Moore, Roy Jowitt
  • Bassoons: Robert Bourton (Principal), Peter Francis
  • Horns: David Cripps (Principal), John Rooke (Asst. Principal), Anthony Chidell, Graham Warren, James Quaife, James Brown, S. Reading, J. Butterworth, Terry Johns
  • Trumpets: Maurice Murphy (Principal), William Lang, Norman Archibald, R. Izen
  • Trombones: Dennis Wick (Principal), Eric Crees (Principal), Frank Mathison
  • Tuba: J. Fletcher (Principal), Steven Wick
  • Timpani: Kurt-Hans Goedicke (Principal)
  • Percussion: Michael Frye (Principal), Ray Northcott
  • Harp: Renata Sheffel-Stein (Principal), J. Marson
  • Piano/Celeste: Robert Noble (Principal), M. Round

Subsequent releases

Release history
Title U.S. release date Label Format
Star Wars–Original Soundtrack June 1977 20th Century Double-LP
1986 Polydor CD
Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology 1993 Arista
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope Special Edition: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 1997 RCA Victor Double CD
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 2004 Sony Classical
The Music of Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition[7] November 6, 2007 CD
Star Wars: The Ultimate Soundtrack Collection[8] January 8, 2016 CD, LP, digital
Star Wars: A New Hope–40th Anniversary Box Set[3] December 1, 2017 Walt Disney Remastered 3-LP
Star Wars: A New Hope (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[4] May 4, 2018 Remastered CD, digital

1986 release

First release on CD by Polydor Records in 1986. It is identical in content and packaging to the LP release.

Disc one

  1. "Main Title" – 5:21
  2. "Imperial Attack" – 6:16
  3. "Princess Leia's Theme" – 4:22
  4. "The Desert and the Robot Auction" – 2:52
  5. "Ben's Death and TIE Fighter Attack" – 3:46
  6. "The Little People Work" – 4:01
  7. "Rescue of the Princess" – 4:46
  8. "Inner City" – 4:13
  9. "Cantina Band" – 2:45

Disc two

  1. "The Land of the Sandpeople" – 2:49
  2. "Mouse Robot and Blasting Off" – 4:01
  3. "The Return Home" – 2:45
  4. "The Walls Converge" – 4:32
  5. "The Princess Appears" – 4:03
  6. "The Last Battle" – 12:06
  7. "The Throne Room and End Title" – 5:27

Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology
Star Wars Trilogy – The Original Soundtrack Anthology: "Star Wars"
Film score by
John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra
Released1993
GenreClassical
LabelArista
ProducerNick Redman

In 1993, 20th Century Fox Film Scores released a four-CD box set containing music from the original Star Wars trilogy. This release marked the first time that the complete contents of the original double-LP releases of the scores from the first two films became available on CD. Disc one in the set was devoted to Star Wars, with further tracks on disc four.

Since every cue is recorded several times, usually with varying orchestral differences, the final decisions on what takes of cues are used and/or how they are edited to create the tracks was decided by the music editor Kenneth Wannberg. In the time between the original LP release and the Anthology's release, this breakdown was lost. Because of this, many takes of cues used on the Anthology are not the same. This is most obvious on the cue "The Throne Room". Also, the tracks were re-arranged to better follow their chronological order in the film.

Disc One
No.TitleLength
1."20th Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension"0:22
2."Main Title"5:23
3."Imperial Attack"6:41
4."The Desert/The Robot Auction"2:51
5."The Little People Work"4:08
6."The Princess Appears"4:06
7."The Land of the Sand People"2:55
8."The Return Home"2:48
9."Inner City"4:44
10."Mouse Robot/Blasting Off"4:03
11."Rescue of the Princess"4:48
12."The Walls Converge"4:33
13."Ben's Death/TIE Fighter Attack"3:51
14."Princess Leia's Theme"4:23
15."The Last Battle"12:13
16."The Throne Room/End Title"5:32
Total length:1:13:21
Disc Four
No.TitleLength
1."20th Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension"0:22
2."Star Wars Main Title" (Alternate)2:16
4."A Hive of Villainy"2:12
5."Destruction of Alderaan"1:31
10."Cantina Band"2:46
12."Cantina Band #2"3:44
15."Standing By"1:14
Total length:14:05

The alternate version of the Star Wars Main Title can be heard in the end credits for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, and is included in the film's soundtrack.

1997 and 2004 Special Edition reissues

The 1997 and 2004 releases include the complete film score, including expanded and unreleased tracks.

Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by
John Williams
Released2004
Recorded1977
Length1:45:09
LabelSony Classical
Producer
  • John Williams
  • Nick Redman
  • Michael Matessino
Disc One
No.TitleLength
1."20th Century Fox Fanfare" (Alfred Newman, 1954)0:22
2."Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner - Medley"2:14
3."Imperial Attack"6:42
4."The Dune Sea of Tatooine/Jawa Sandcrawler - Medley"5:01
5."The Moisture Farm"2:25
6."The Hologram/Binary Sunset - Medley"4:08
7."Landspeeder Search/Attack of the Sand People - Medley"3:20
8."Tales of a Jedi Knight/Learn About the Force - Medley"4:28
9."Burning Homestead"2:50
10."Mos Eisley Spaceport"2:16
11."Cantina Band"2:46
12."Cantina Band #2"3:54
13."Binary Sunset (Alternate) - Medley" (contains hidden track "Star Wars Main Title" [take 19] (complete recording session version; takes 16-20))16:59
Total length:57:33
Disc Two
No.TitleLength
1."Princess Leia's Theme"4:27
2."The Millennium Falcon/Imperial Cruiser Pursuit - Medley"3:51
3."Destruction of Alderaan"1:32
4."The Death Star/The Stormtroopers - Medley"3:35
5."Wookiee Prisoner/Detention Block Ambush - Medley"4:01
6."Shootout in the Cell Bay/Dianoga - Medley"3:48
7."The Trash Compactor"3:06
8."The Tractor Beam/Chasm Crossfire - Medley"5:18
9."Ben Kenobi's Death/TIE Fighter Attack"3:51
10."The Battle of Yavin (Launch from the Fourth Moon/X-Wings Draw Fire/Use the Force)"9:06
11."The Throne Room/End Title"5:37
Total length:48:16

2017 and 2018 Disney reissues

Walt Disney Records reissued the original 1977 soundtrack album in digital formats and streaming services on January 1, 2017, and on LP record on December 1, 2017, to coincide with the film's fortieth anniversary that same year. The LP reissue featured a remastered soundtrack, hand-etched hologram art, and a 48-page book containing production photographs, liner notes, and essays on John Williams and the music of Star Wars.[3]

Disney released a newly remastered edition of the original 1977 album program on CD, digital download, and streaming services on May 4, 2018. This remaster was newly assembled by Shawn Murphy and Skywalker Sound from the highest-quality master tapes available, rather than sourced from the existing 1977 album masters.[4] On these reissues, the final track ("The Throne Room and End Title") is presented at the correct speed and pitch, having been sped up slightly on the original LP, CD, and 2016 Sony releases.

Compilations and re-recordings (Selection)

Tracks of the soundtrack appear on various Best of Compilations and rerecordings by John Williams.

  • 1983: The Star Wars Trilogy (Return of the Jedi / The Empire Strikes Back / Star Wars)[9]
  • 1990/2001: John Williams Conducts The Star Wars Trilogy[10][11]

Accolades

Charts
Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 12

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[13] Gold 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[15] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Recording Information

Cue list
  • R1P2 Star Wars (March 5, 1977)
  • R1P3 Imperial Attack Pt. II (The War*) (March 8, 1977)
  • R1P4-R2P1 Imperial Attack (The Escape Hatch*) (March 12, 1977)
  • R2P2 The Desert (R1P5-R2P1 Desert Song*) (March 12, 1977)
  • R2P2 The Little People (Not Recorded)
  • R2P3N The Little People (March 15, 1977)
  • R2P3 More Little People (Not Recorded)
  • R2P5R More Little People (March 15, 1977)
  • R2P4 R-2 (Not Recorded)
  • R2P4R R-2 (March 11, 1977)
  • R3P1 The Princess Appears (Not Recorded)
  • R3P1R The Princess Appears (March 5, 1977)
  • R3P2 Lost R2 (Not Recorded)
  • R3P2R Lost R2 (March 8, 1977)
  • R3P2N (March 15, 1977)
  • R3P3 The Sand Speeder (Not Recorded)
  • R3P3R The Land of the Sand People (March 11, 1977)
  • R3P4-R4P1 The Sandman Attacks (Not Recorded)
  • R3P4-R4P1R Land of Sand People Pt. II (March 16, 1977)
  • R4P2 Obi-Wan Kenobi (March 9, 1977)
  • R4P2A The Force (March 9, 1977)
  • R4P3 The Princess Reappears (March 11, 1977)
  • R4P4 A Home Destroyed (March 11, 1977)
  • R4P4R The Return Home (March 9, 1977)
  • R5P1 A Hive of Villainy (Not Recorded)
  • R5P1R A Hive of Villainy (March 15, 1977)
  • R5P4-R6P1 Monkey Band (R5P3-3A Jolly Jazzers*) (March 10, 1977)
  • R5P6 The Inner City (Not Recorded)
  • R5P6R The Inner City (March 12, 1977)
  • R6P1 Blasting Away (March 16, 1977)
  • R6P5N The Destruction of Alderon (March 12, 1977)
  • R7P1N Is It a Bird? (R6P3*) (March 5, 1977)
  • R7P1 The Hatch Opens (Not Recorded)
  • R7P2N The Hatch Opens (March 11, 1977)
  • R7P2 The Mouse Robot (March 9, 1977)
  • R8P2N More Rescue (March 12, 1977)
  • R8P2 The Rescue (Not Recorded)
  • R8P2R The Rescue (New Intro) (March 8, 1977)
  • R8P3 The Water Snake (Not Recorded)
  • R8P3R The Water Snake (March 11, 1977)
  • R8P4 The Walls Converge (March 11, 1977)
  • R9P1 Ben Creeps Around (March 8, 1977)
  • R9P2 The Swashbucklers (March 5, 1977)
  • R9P3-R10P1 Ben's Death (March 5, 1977)
  • R10P2 The Fighters Attack (Here They Come*) (March 11, 1977)
  • R10P3-R11P1 Standing By (Stand By*) (March 12, 1977)
  • R11P2 Approaching the Target (Not Recorded)
  • R11P2R The Last Battle Pt. II (March 11, 1977)
  • R12P1 (March 15, 1977)
  • R12P2 The Throne Room and End Title (End Titles*) (March 12, 1977)
  • R12P2X (March 16, 1977)
  • The Princess Theme (March 8, 1977)

*Original cue number/title before revisions

Original recording log

The score for Star Wars was recorded over the span of eight days in the month of March 1977. The 1997 Special Edition soundtrack release by RCA Victor included a detailed look at the recording log for all the cues in the film.

Recording Date: March 5, 1977 – Day 1
Recorded Take Cue Title Selected Take Film Order
1-7 Chasm Crossfire 5, 7 31
8-10 The Death Star 10 23
11-15 Ben Kenobi's Death 13, 15 32
16-20 Main Title 18, 19, 20 1
21-23 The Hologram 22 8
Recording Date: March 8, 1977 – Day 2
Recording Take Cue Title Selected Take Film Order
24-27 Shootout In The Cell Bay 26, 27 27
28-40 Princess Leia's Theme 33, 40 N/A
41-50 Imperial Attack (Part 1) 44, 50 2
51-53 The Tractor Beam 53 30
54-55 Binary Sunset (Alternate) N/A N/A
Recording Date: March 9, 1977 – Day 3
Recorded Takes Cue Title Selected Takes Film Order
56-58 Learn About The Force (Part 2) 58 15
59-63 Burning Homestead 62, 63 16
64-67 Wookiee Prisoner 67 25
68-72 Learn About The Force (Part 1) 72 14
Recording Date: March 10, 1977 – Day 4
Recorded Takes Cue Title Selected Takes Film Order
73-80 Cantina Band 76 18
81-82 Cantina Band #2 81 19
Recording Date: March 11, 1977 – Day 5
Recorded Takes Cue Title Selected Takes Film Order
83-86 X-Wings Draw Fire 85, 86 35
87-92 Landspeeder Search 92 10
93-94 Tales Of A Jedi Knight (Part 2) N/A N/A
95-97 Tie Fighter Attack 95, 97 33
98-105 The Trash Compactor 101, 102 29
106-109 Tales Of A Jedi Knight (Part 2) 109 13
110-114 The Stormtroopers 114 24
115-116 Dianoga 116 28
117-122 Tales Of A Jedi Knight (Part 1) 122 12
123-126 The Moisture Farm (Part 2) 126 7
Recording Date: March 12, 1977 – Day 6
Recorded Takes Cue Title Selected Takes Film Order
127-133 The Throne Room 132, 133 37
134-143 End Title 136, 137, 142, 143 38
144-149 Dune Sea Of Tatooine 149 4
150-154 Detention Block Ambush 153, 154 26
155-162 Launch From The Fourth Moon 162 34
163-167 Imperial Attack (Part 2) 165, 167 3
168-172 Destruction Of Alderaan 172 22
173-175 The Millennium Falcon 175 20
Recording Date: March 15, 1977 – Day 7
Recorded Takes Cue Title Selected Takes Film Order
176-180 Use The Force 178, 180 36
181-185 Mos Eisley Spaceport 184, 185 17
186-188 Jawa Sandcrawler 186, 187, 188 5
189-197 The Moisture Farm (Part 1) 194, 197 6
198-202 Binary Sunset (Revised) 202 9
Recording Date: March 16, 1977 – Day 8
Recorded Takes Cue Title Selected Takes Film Order
203-209 Imperial Cruiser Pursuit 205, 206, 209 21
210-214 Attack Of The Sand People 213, 214 11
215-219 End Title (Crossover) 219 38

See also

References
  1. Abramovitch, Seth (29 January 2021). "Hollywood Flashback: John Williams' 'Star Wars' Score Won a Golden Globe and an Oscar". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. "AFI's 100 years of film scores". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  3. "Star Wars: A New Hope (original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 3-LP Vinyl Album Boxed Set Of Composer John Williams' Oscar®-Winning Score To Be Released On December 1". Burbank, California: Walt Disney Records. PR Newswire. 7 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  4. "Disney Music Group Set To Release First 6 Remastered Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtracks On May 4". Burbank, California: Walt Disney Records. PR Newswire. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  5. "John Berkey Remembered". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm Ltd. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  6. "John Williams (4), London Symphony Orchestra, The – Star Wars original soundtrack release". Discogs. 12 August 1977. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  7. "Sony Classical Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars with an 8-CD Collectors Edition Featuring Three of Composer/Conductor John Williams' Original Soundtrack Recordings". Sony Music Masterworks. PR Newswire. 7 November 2007. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  8. "Sony Classical Reissues Star Wars Episodes I-VI In Newly Restored Audio Collections". Sony Classical. PR Newswire. 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  9. The Star Wars Trilogy (Return of the Jedi / The Empire Strikes Back / Star Wars), 1 January 1983, archived from the original on 20 February 2023, retrieved 20 February 2023
  10. "John Williams Conducts The Star Wars Trilogy" von John Williams (in Swiss High German), 6 November 1990, archived from the original on 20 February 2023, retrieved 20 February 2023
  11. John Williams Conducts The Star Wars Trilogy, 6 November 1990, archived from the original on 20 February 2023, retrieved 20 February 2023
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 282. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. "Cash Box Newspaper" (PDF). Cash Box. 1 April 1978. p. 58. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via World Radio History.
  14. "British album certifications – John Williams – Star Wars (soundtrack)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  15. "American album certifications – John Williams – Star Wars (soundtrack)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
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